


Bridges Out of Cobwebs

by the_impatient_panda



Category: Body of Proof
Genre: Building bridges, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Slow Burn, Spoilers, cute moments, friendship fic, the best things we never saw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25414531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_impatient_panda/pseuds/the_impatient_panda
Summary: A closer look at the budding relationship between Megan Hunt and her boss, Kate Murphy. Constantly references the show, from the time Kate breaks up with Kate's ex-husband, all the way through to the end. SO MANY SPOILERS. Could be Kate/Megan if you squint, but it's sort of the pre-game to them having an actual relationship.WARNING: INCOMPLETE this is actually fairly well finished, coming in at around 40ish pages, but a lot of it is still skeleton dialogue with only basic notes about who is talking or what is going on. Still lots of fun, sweet parts, and in some ways the simplicity is part of what I love about it.
Relationships: Kate Murphy & Megan Hunt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Bridges Out of Cobwebs

The first time Megan invited Kate to her home for dinner, they were both a bit surprised. 

“Do you actually mean that?” Kate asked, hesitating in the doorway of Megan’s office with a file in hand.

“Yes,” Megan replied shortly, unwilling to admit otherwise. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have said it. You know that.”

“Why?” The question was pointed, as was Kate’s raised brow. 

“It’s an olive branch,” the brilliant ME snapped, getting annoyed with the line of questioning and her own fumbling tongue. “Take or it or leave it. You apologized for dating Todd, and I really appreciated it. I’m just trying to do something nice in return.” The admission was tagged on as though it was of no import, but Kate still smiled. 

“Then I accept,” her boss said, hiding her reservation. She wasn’t convinced it was necessarily a good idea, but hope springs eternal and being on Megan Hunt’s good side would only make life easier for both of them. The fact that she would also like a friend was...of secondary importance.

“Would you prefer italian or hamburgers?” Megan asked, mentally reviewing the contents of her woefully under stocked refrigerator now that she actually had to cook. 

“Surprise me,” Kate said as she checked her phone. Something about the text reminded her, “Didn’t you have a date tonight originally?”

“Yes,” her employee admitted with a shrug. “Except my mother is busy and Todd asked me to take Lacey a day early. By early he means just late enough that dinner is past, but not late enough for me to make a date of it. Which is fine, I’m always happy to take Lacey whenever she needs me to.”

“You could have invited Aiden over for dinner,” Kate pointed out carefully. 

“I didn’t want more grief from Todd for seeing someone so young,” the ME grumbled, looking down at her hands.

Her companion snorted. “He doesn’t have any room to do so.”

“Yes, well...” Rolling her eyes, and then fixing Kate with a fixed smile. “If you don’t want to come just say so. I can put up with my own company for a few hours just fine.”

“No, I’ll come for dinner. Having a meal with someone instead of by myself will be nice.” The admission slips out easily, but Megan decides not to take the offered opening for once. 

“Then I’ll see you at seven?”

“Sounds good.”

-090-

Kate was surprised how comfortable she felt, sitting at Megan’s kitchen counter on a barstool with a glass of wine in hand and her heels off. 

“So,” Megan said as she checked the pasta on the stovetop. “You haven’t found anyone else yet?”

“Is there a reason you feel the need to poke at sore spots?” Kate retorted over the rim of her cup.

“Todd is still a sore spot?” the ex-doctor said in surprise as she pulled down clean plates. “And I was more expressing...curiosity that someone like you would have any trouble finding a replacement for Todd.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” But the words held more amusement than bite, and Megan barked a laugh in return. 

“You are an attractive, intelligent, and well-connected woman, Dr. Murphy. There is no reason you should be hurting for dates,” Megan said in the same factual tone she usually reserved for her work.

“I’m not,” Kate admitted, taking a sip of her wine. “I’m just not interested right now.”

“I can understand that, too.” There was something in her tone that made Kate open her mouth to ask why that was, but Megan turned away to drain the pasta and then the sound of the front door opening made them both pause. 

“Mom?”

“Lacey?” Megan replied, putting the pot down to one side. “Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine,” her daughter called back, heading towards her bedroom. “Dad had something come up and dropped me off early. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I must have missed his call,” the ME said, putting a smile on her face and wiping her hands quickly with an apologetic glance in Kate’s direction. “We have company for dinner. Why don’t you come say hi while I make sure there were no more changes with your father.”

“Aidan?” Lacey said hopefully, skidding into the kitchen.

“Most definitely not,” Kate replied carefully as she waved to the young girl from her seat.

“Dr. Murphy.” The smile immediately dropped from the girl’s face, and her spine straightened as though speaking to a teacher. 

“Just Kate is fine, Lacey,” the blonde said quietly, trying not to take the obvious change personally when she knew she was a fault for it as much as anyone else. “And if you’d prefer I leave I can. I know I’m not your favorite person in the world-”

“Why are you here?” It was her mother’s bluntness coming out of her mouth, and it made Kate smile even as she winced. 

“Your mom invited me to dinner, in her worlds ‘as an olive branch’,” she explained, deciding to treat the girl as an equal rather than a child. She’d already made that mistake once. “Regardless of what happened before, we’re still coworkers and colleagues. And...as two women in a profession that is usually dominated by men, we’re also trying to be friends.”

“Which will hopefully turn out better than you dating my dad.” Again, that was entirely her mother’s unfiltered mouth coming through.

It still made her smile. “Hm, yes.”

The girl squinted, and cocked her head to one side. “So...are you actually going to talk to me? Because you never did when you were dating my dad.”

“That was because your dad was convinced that if I so much as looked at you your mother would lose her mind.” Kate allowed her discomfort to show as she added, “I regret that I listened to him. And...a lot of other things too.”

“You weren’t the first,” Lacey said, and Kate wondered if it was always like this. 

“Pardon me?” 

“Girlfriend that he’s had,” the girl clarified.

“No,” Kate agreed, because if there was one thing Todd liked to talk about it was himself and he hadn’t been as discreet as he probably imagined mentioning those who had come before herself. “But I was the first one that your mom knew personally.”

“And now you want to be her friend.” The quirk of the brow, the skeptical lilt in her voice, it was her mother to a T. 

“Should I take that as my hint to leave?” Kate asked, falling back on her original offer with a touch of exasperation.

“No,” Lacey said quickly, turning pink as her rudeness finally hit home. “Could we...not tell mom?”

“Not tell mom what?” Megan asked as she closed the door behind herself. 

“Nothing,” Kate replied with a small smile. 

“Now why don’t I believe that?” the ME asked as she tried to catch her daughter’s eye and failed.

“The pasta’s getting cold,” Lacey said, moving to grab the pot from the counter. “And the sauce is boiling. Did you make enough for me too?”

“Fine, I’ll let it go,” Megan said as she moved to help her daughter. “And yes, there’s enough for you. I was going to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow, but an excuse to visit my favorite bistro is always welcome.”

It was strangely not awkward. Megan and Lacey were both blunt, but a third person for them to focus on seemed to lessen the inevitable clashes between people who were simply too much alike. And Kate, after working with Megan these last several months, was good a deflecting them both. Art turned out to be a safe subject that Lacey enjoyed discussing at length, and when that ran its course there was always work (and the people there) to hash over. And Lacey, bless her, soaked up the details much like her mother did. It made Kate mindful of what came out of her mouth, because it was entirely possible the wrong voiced opinion would come back to bite her later. 

“I need to go,” Kate said when Megan asked her daughter about homework being finished. “I have work of my own still to do tonight.”

“Oh,” Megan said from where she was loading the dishwasher. “I’ll walk you out-”

“I’ll do it,” Lacey said quickly, popping up from her seat.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure mom.” Rolling her eyes.

“Thank you for dinner, Megan. It was really good, and I had fun.”

“Me too. See you at work?”

“Where else?”

Lacey opened the door to the hallway, and said, “Kate...”

“Is there where you tell me you’d prefer it if we don’t do this again?” Kate asked quietly with understanding.

“No,” Lacey said quickly, cheeks pink. “This is where I tell you...I think you make a better friend for my mom than girlfriend for my dad.”

“Thanks, me too. So you’re...ok with this? Because I don’t want...”

“It’s fine. And she needs friends. So...thanks.”

-090-

“Lacey wanted to know when we’re going to have you over for dinner again,” Megan said as she paused in Kate’s open office door the following Monday morning.

“Is that an invitation?” Kate asked when nothing more came forth.

“More a question of if it’s too much too soon?” her ME replied carefully. “I’ll understand if you have other things to do than hang out with me and my kid.”

“Whenever is fine with me,” her boss reassured her mildly, hiding a smile. “You’re lucky, Lacey is a really special girl.”

“Yeah, she is,” Megan agreed with the proud smile that she got whenever she spoke about her daughter. “Who knows, you might meet the right man someday and have one of your own.”

Kate just shrugged as her phone rang, and Megan left her to answer it. And really...it was probably better that way. 

-090-

“Do you always have to be right?” Kate grumbled as she checked her purse for keys.

“Do you want have dinner with me or not?” Megan replied, hiding her smug smile.

“Yes, I do, it just gets frustrating when over and over I expect you to fall on your face and you don’t.”

Her companion snorted and headed out the door through the mostly deserted office knowing she would be followed. “...thank you? Or would you prefer an apology.”

“We both know how an apology would end,” Kate called after her, letting Megan hit the button for the elevator.

“How?” the older woman rejoined with a smirk.

“Poorly,” the blonde deadpanned. 

The doors opened with a soft ding and they both stepped inside. “Hm. Yes, probably. It’s one of the few things I will admit to being bad at.”

“The great Dr. Megan Hunt admits to having faults?” her boss said in mock astonishment. “Alert the press, they have their title page for tomorrow!”

“Ha ha,” Megan retorted, rolling her eyes. “Why did I invite you out again?”

“Because Aiden is out of town, Lacey is with her father, Peter has a date with Dani and your other option is your mother,” Kate replied, ticking them off her fingers as she went. “I suppose I should be flattered that I’m not your last choice...”

“What do you think of that?” her companion cut in bluntly, and Kate mentally circled back to figure out what she meant.

“Peter and Dani?” Megan nodded. “I don’t really have an opinion. They both do their jobs and haven’t let it affect their work, so it doesn’t much bother me either way. And they seem to like each other, so...”

“So you don’t have a problem with inter-office relationships,” Dr. Hunt asked in the tone that meant she was puzzling something out.

“Not so long as it doesn’t interfere with the work,” Kate replied mildly. “Given that this is a cooperative instead of competitive work environment, I would think that closer relationships between people would make for better work.”

“Good to know.”

The blonde’s brow rose as they reached the garage floor and headed towards their respective vehicles. “Got your sights on someone? I thought you and Aiden...”

“Just for future reference. You never know who might walk in the door,” Megan called as they parted ways. “The Bistro or your Thai place?”

“Thai.”

“I’ll see you there.”

-090-

“Peter’s not jealous, is he?”

“Of what?” Megan asked, looking up from her steak.

“Of this becoming a weekly thing?” Kate replied, motioning to the restaurant around them as though that explained everything. 

“He’s abandoned me for Dani,” her companion sighed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not sure he’d notice if I disappeared off the face of the planet.”

Kate scoffed. “Oh, he’d notice. He likes working with you.”

“How do you know?” the ME asked, curious in spite of herself.

“He took the time to force you to come out of your shell,” her boss said, toying with her salad. “And thank god, because you’ve become much easier to work with since then.”

“Oh, I think you would have made me behave eventually if he hadn’t,” Megan said absently. Clearing her throat, she hastily added, “Force is the right word. Though, annoyingly enough, whenever he decided to butt into my business he was usually right.”

“Oh, so you know what the rest of us feel like working with you every day?” Kate asked, smirking. “Good.”

“Ha ha ha.”

-090-

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Megan asked as her daughter put on her coat.

“Of course not,” Lacey replied with a grin. “I want to see Kate too.”

“We may not be allowed to stay long,” the ME reminded her as they went out the door and locked it behind themselves. “And we might still be talking to her through glass, even if she is past the 21 day confinement period. Even though the treatment is working, I still want to check on her. She isn’t answering her phone, and her brother isn’t supposed to make it in until tomorrow.”

“It’s fine, mom. Let’s go.”

Parking at the hospital was as difficult as ever (which never made sense to Lacey, wouldn’t you want to make it easy for people to get the help they needed? She was sure there was a metaphor lost in there somewhere) but they made it up to the right floor. And found Dr. Kate Murphy was no longer there. 

Lacey knew her mother’s tones, and this one was dangerous. So she backed away, played on her phone, and waited for the shouting (that was thankfully not directed at her) to be over. When her mother turned around to find her, the anger was still there but muted to a mere simmer. 

“Lacey,” she said in clipped tones. “I need to-”

“It’s fine, mom,” the girl replied, pocketing her phone and falling instep beside her.

“I can drop you off with your grandma if you want. Or someone else,” Megan offered, her mind already cataloging all the possibilities. “I’ll probably stay with her until her brother gets there.”

“No, I’ll stick with you,” her daughter said simply. “Besides, she might need help.”

“With what?” her mother asked, briefly pulled from her thoughts.

Lacey smiled. “Dealing with you. You do get a little neurotic at times.”

Megan couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face. “She bullied the doctor into releasing her AMA, she deserves whatever the hell she gets for it,” she snorted all the same. “Let’s go.”

-090-

Megan stopped at work first, and broke into her boss’s desk. Kate kept a spare set of keys there, and she used them shamelessly to get into the small apartment without knocking.

“Who-?” Kate croaked from the couch in the living room, slumped with exhaustion over the expensive cushions. 

“Look at you,” Megan said as she barged in and set her bags aside. “You look like you barely made it in the front door.”

“Hello to you too,” Kate replied gruffly as she settled back against her couch, unwilling to admit how true that actually was. “How did you get in?”

“I took the keys from your desk,” Megan said as she pulled out her stethoscope and a few other tools.

“That drawer is locked,” her boss mumbled, rubbing her face.

“The key code is your brother’s birthday,” the older woman replied absently. 

“How do you-? No, I don’t want to know.” Kate cleared her throat, trying to circumvent the cough building her in throat. Oh, her sides ached from the coughing. “Why are you here?”

“Not letting you die.”

“I’m not dying. That was weeks ago.”

“Then to make sure you don’t end back up in the hospital,” Megan snapped, settling herself on the coffee table. 

Kate gave into the cough, and muttered, “I’m fine. Just go away and let me sleep.” She was aware she wasn’t convincing in the least. 

Dr. Hunt didn’t have to think to do a basic exam, it came as natural as breathing. Kate cracked an eye open at her at the first touch, but did nothing to stop it. She’d rather die than admit that Megan’s fingers pressed against her forehead is the most comforting thing she’s felt in days. “You are not,” her ME said, concluding her check. “You need to eat and drink. And take your meds.” She sniffed. “And a bath. You stink.”

“You and your magnificent bedside manner,” her unwilling patient drawled quietly. 

Megan smiled brightly and said, “A side-benefit of working with dead people: they don’t care.”

Kate opened her mouth to say something snarky back, pausing when her eyes landed on Megan’s daughter standing the background. “Lacey...!”

“Hi,” the girl said, trying to smile and not quite managing it. 

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Kate said, trying to sit up a little straighter.

“Yes it is,” Megan replied in a low murmur. “Idiot. Why did you ask them to send you home early?”

“The ward was overcrowded,” the blonde replied softly. “Too many mouths and not enough hands. Kent will be in tomorrow morning. I figured I’d camp out on my couch until he gets here and deal with the rest after that.”

“Your body is weak,” her friend told her sharply. “You shouldn’t be out of the hospital, and you most definitely shouldn’t be alone.” Glancing over her shoulder, she caught her daughter’s drawn features for the first time. “Call your grandma, honey. See if she can pick you up and spend the night with you,” she said gently, realizing the girl may be in for more than she bargained.

“I’d rather stay here,” Lacey said, firm though with voice quivering.

“Lacey...”

“I want to stay.” More steadily. “Besides, you need help don’t you? Or are you going to leave her alone when you go get food for the fridge and anything else you decide she needs?”

“Two Hunts to bully me,” Kate muttered from her seat. “Wonderful.”

“You want me to call my mom? We can make it three,” Megan offered too sweetly.

“No, that’s alright.” Her smile was faint, but it was real and it touched her visitor more than either was willing to admit. “Two is plenty.”

“First things first,” Megan said quickly as she got up from the coffee table. “Lacey, check her fridge and pantry, and make a list for the grocery store. Kate, which bathroom is yours and do you have a tub?”

One hand pointed to hallway to the left. “That one and yes. Why?”

“Because I don’t think you can stand long enough for a shower, and you’re going to sleep better if you’re clean. Also, if you get the hospital smell on your sheets it will take weeks to wash out.” Muttering to herself, she added, “I know that from personal experience.”

Kate opened her eyes and looked up to say she’d rather sleep...and gave in as soon as sher gaze met Megan’s. “...a bath sounds incredible.”

“Then we’ll make it happen,” her companion promised far more gently than she usually spoke. More loudly she called, “Lace?”

“Most stuff went bad, and there’s not much here except coffee and wine. I wrote down what I threw away.” To Kate, she added. “Is the easel in the kitchen your work, Kate?”

“It is,” Kate replied, opening her eyes with a tight smile. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I’d like to ask you about it-”

“Later,” Megan broke in gently, coming back from the bathroom with the sound of running water behind her. “C’mon, Kate. Up we go.” Lifts the blonde to her feet, and slings and arm over her shoulders. Lacey steps up to take her other side. “How bad is the soreness?”

Glancing at Lacey. “Manageable.”

“When was the last time you took your pain meds?” Megan asked, forgoing the opportunity to call bullshit.

“This morning at the hospital. I haven’t exactly been up and about enough to go get to the pharmacy,” the blonde admitted, voice tight. The muscle soreness faded when she was still, and came back with a vengeance as she tried to move. The fact that her pain meds were probably fading fast from her system was not helping. 

The ME settled for, “Seriously, I could kill you. Which pharmacy?”

“It’s on the sheet on the coffee table.”

“Good.” They made it to the bathroom, and helped Kate sit on the closed toilet. “Lacey, you can step out for a bit.”

“I can undress myself,” Kate said quickly, cheeks turning pink. 

“You’re also a fall risk,” Megan countered quietly. “And I don’t need to tell you how much an additional injury could set your progress back if you slipped. I’m staying here, in case you lose your balance.” Leaning against the sink, eyes on the ceiling she added, “Medical professional, remember? You’ve got nothing I haven’t seen before. On live and dead ones.”

It was a logical argument. And the fact that it was approached as such made it hard for Kate to argue without sounding childish. So she settled for, “...fine,” and got to work. 

She knew what Megan was doing. The human peripheral vision was wider than most people realized, and it was possible to look without looking just by relaxing your gaze slightly and focusing on the movement rather than the details. It was privacy, but not, and she tried not to think about it as she shucked the tshirt and sweatpants to one side. Her legs shook as she lifted her hips to drop her underwear, and she tried not to think about the three steps she would have to take to get to the tub. 

A hand was offered, silently, Megan’s eyes still on the ceiling. Cheeks warm, Kate took it and unsteadily made her way to the steaming tub. Once lowered safely in her seat, Megan turned without comment and gathered up the discarded clothes. 

“Where’s your washing machine?” she asked, balling it up carefully.

“You don’t have to-” Kate protested.

“You wouldn’t believe how bad these will smell if you put it off, and it will infect everything it comes into contact with after a while,” Megan overrode her gently, still not looking. “Where?”

“...across the hallway.”

“Thank you. I’m leaving the door open and Lacey is going to be sitting outside it. If something happens, you yell for her and she’ll yell for me.”

“Yes, mother,” Kate muttered, trying to pretend her arms and legs weren’t still shaking.

“No, don’t call me that,” Megan said flatly. “You’ve got ten minutes, so make the most of it.”

“Mmm.”

“Lacey, sit right there and if you think something’s wrong you come get me,” Megan said as she walked out and pointed to a spot beside the door. 

“Ok, mom.”

“And if you can keep her talking that would help.”

“About what?”

“Anything.”

“So...” Lacey said as she settled into the spot, watching her mother attempt to reason out the rather futuristic washing machine the Chief ME owned. “Anything new with you?”

“I’ve been in a hospital for four weeks, so no. You?” Kate replied dryly. 

“Not really,” Lacey replied, resting her head on her knees. “School was closed for a week, right after....and besides catching up and preparing for exams...that’s been it. This was my first week with mom, actually, because she’s been so busy...”

“...I’m sorry, Lace,” Kate said, the soft sound of water splashing pausing for a moment. “Let’s talk about something else.”

“Ok,” the teenager said, taking a deep breath. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Met any cute boys lately?”

“Yeah. One or two.” Watching for her mother. “But don’t tell mom, you know how she gets about that sort of thing.”

“She’s got a cute boy herself,” Kate chuckled quietly. “Has she heard from Aiden? ”

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Lacey replied quickly. “They talked this morning.” More to herself. “I don’t know if it’s going to work out.”

“Why not?”

“It’s long-distance now. And...I think he was mad that she didn’t step away from the investigation when she had the chance.”

“If she had, a lot more people would be dead.”

“Including you.”

“Maybe, yeah.” Shrugging. “Who can say? What I do know is that your mom is brilliant and fearless and...I owe her my life.” Clearing her throat. “You didn’t...are you friends alright? I never asked your mom...”

“Yeah,” Lacey replied. “Most of my friends were in school when the outbreak happened, so they weren’t near anyone to catch it from. I have a few friends who knew someone who died, but we were pretty lucky.”

“Yeah, we were.”

“Mom said that Peter lost his girlfriend.”

“Yeah, he did. She was one of the first victims.”

“He wasn’t very lucky, then.”

“Lacey,” Kate said quietly. “We’re lucky for every day we have with the people we care about. And we never know when it might be the last one.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Time’s up,” Megan said as she appeared, holding a stack of clean towels and clothes pilfered from the doctor’s bedroom.

“I can manage-” Kate started.

“Oh, stop it,” the ME replied firmly. “I’ve got a plan, alright? Empty the water and tell me when it's done. I promise, I’m giving you as much privacy as I safely can.”

“...alright.” Kate obeyed the simple instructions, and admitted that Megan knew what she was doing. Once the tub was emptied, a towel was tossed to her. Wrapping up as best she could, the blonde allowed her companion to help her stand and shift back to the now towel-covered toilet. A third towel was left within reach, as were her clothes, and Megan resumed her spot at the sink, staring at the floor this time and waiting patiently for Kate to finish. When she finished, and started to stand, the hand was there again and a few shaky steps later an arm slipping around her waist and steadying her stumbling feet all the way back to the couch. 

It all worked surprisingly well.

“Got practice taking care of invalids?” Kate asked once she was settled and the wheezes stopped.

“Got practice being an invalid, and knowing how I liked to be treated,” Megan replied with a shrug. 

“The car accident,” the blonde murmured, wondering how she could possibly forget.

“Yes,” the mother agreed quietly.

Kate’s eyelids are getting heavy. “...so tired...”

“Go to sleep,” Megan said as she covered her up with a blanket. “Lacey’s going to stay here in case you need something. I’m going to go get your medicines and some food. Any preferences on lunch and dinner?”

“I would kill for some italian,” Remembering the awful, gluey strings the hospital called ‘noodles’. 

“Pasta it is. Think you’ll be alright for an hour or so?”

“I’ll probably sleep right through it.”

“Good.”

Instructions to Lacey, Megan leaves.

-090-

Megan woke to someone knocking on the front door. Groaning, she sat up from the chair she had been dozing in and pushed the blanket to the side, running a hand through her hair to settle it back into place. A second round of insistent knocks sent her to the door, and she opened it to a blonde-haired blue-eyed man on the verge of panic with familiar features.

“Kent Murphy?” she guessed as he stared at her in surprise.

“Yes,” he replied quickly. “Did I get the wrong apartment? Kate’s not answering-”

“Oh, damn.” Megan pulled Kate’s cell from her pocket. “Sorry, I forgot to turn her phone back on. I’m Megan, Kate’s friend, I stayed with her after she bullied the hospital into letting her go home a little early.”

“That sounds like something she’d do,” Kent said as he rubbed at his face and stepped inside. “So she’s...alright?”

“She will be,” Megan replied quickly. “Yes. Just...really weak and tired right now. She’s sleeping in her room, if you want to go see her.”

“Yeah, thanks. Sorry to rush through-”

“No, it’s fine. She’s your sister, and I get it.”

“Mom?”

Kent looked back towards the couch, confused, as a brunette head peaked from the blankets. Megan explained, “My daughter, Lacey. She stayed with me to help.” To Lacey. “It’s Kate’s brother, Lace, go back to sleep for a bit.”

“‘Kay.”

Kent goes right into the bedroom, and after a bit Megan can hear voices coming quietly from inside. Megan starts cleaning up and getting everything in order. She gathers up the trash that needs taking out, and she writes down the medications Kate has to take, when she has to take them and what she needs to take with them. When Kent emerges a  
while later, it’s with a worried look on his face.

“She needs to, uh, use the bathroom,” he said uncomfortably without meeting Megan’s eyes. “Could you...?”

“You’re going to need to after we leave,” Megan replied simply.

“Oh. So you can’t stay.”

“I imagine Kate already told you that.”

“She mentioned something, but I’d hoped...”

“Sorry, no. With her out of commission, I’m on call and to be honest we’re lucky I haven’t been called in yet. Besides the fact I need to get Lacey home to hand her off to her dad for school tomorrow, and prepare to head back to work myself.”

“So you work at the ME office?”

“Yes. I’m the best ME she has.”

“That’s very humble of you.”

“It’s not bragging if it’s the truth.”

“Right. So, I’m on my own after you leave, then.”

“Yes, you are. I did write down several notes for you about her medications, and I can promise to drop in and check on things tonight and tomorrow evening if it makes you feel any better.”

“It would, yes.”

“C’mon, I’ll show you how to how to safely lift her to her feet and help her to the bathroom so you’ll be able to do it later. Thankfully, she’s already showing improvement in her stability and endurance so she shouldn’t need help much longer.”

“Oh, thank god. I love my sister, but I don’t think I could help her with something private. Like...bathing, or getting dressed.”

“I’m surprised your parents didn’t fly in.”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“They’re dead. Have been for years.”

“No. She didn’t mention that.”

-090-

“Where have you been?” Todd asked as he met them outside Megan’s condo. “I’ve been waiting more than hour!”

“Well, since pick-up wasn’t for another two I’m not sure why,” Megan replied flatly as she unlocked her door and led the way inside.

“Well, you’re supposed to be home and you weren’t answering your cell phone so I could let you know plans changed,” Todd replied shortly as he followed her in. “Lacey’s riding instructor called, and he’s able to do her make-up session this morning. We can still make it if we hurry-”

“Cancel it,” Megan cut in shortly as she deposited her purse on the kitchen counter and started to make some coffee.

“Why?”

“Because, she was up half the night with me taking care of Kate at her apartment.”

“What?”

“You do remember Kate, right? My boss? You dated her for awhile? She’s now my friend?”

“Yes, I know who Kate is. Why was she out of the hospital? There’s no way-”

“She bullied some doctor into releasing her early. Which was stupid, but I understand why. I offered to drop Lacey off with my mom or a friend, but she insisted on staying and helping out. She did great, actually. I’m really proud of her.”

“And...Kate’s alright?”

“Yeah, she’s going to be fine. Her brother is with her now, we left once he was settled in.”

“Ok.” It’s a little hard for him to still be angry when it was about Kate. “So...no riding lesson then.”

“No, no riding lesson. She needs sleep so she’ll be ready for school on Monday.”

“Got it. Lace, you about ready to go?”

“Almost, dad, just a minute!”

-090-

“He’s cute,” Megan said as she settled in beside Kate on her queen sized bed, sipping her coffee with her socked feet propped up on a pillow. It was a little strange, the level of intimacy the position implied, but it felt...good all the same. 

“He’s taken,” Kate replied with a roll of her eyes, sipping her juice. It wasn’t the wine she wanted to drink, but that would have to wait. 

“I never said I wanted him,” Megan laughed quietly. “Just that he was cute. I can browse without wanting to buy.”

“Hm.” Giving Megan a long look. “...thank you.”

“For?”

“Helping out yesterday and staying with me. I feel a lot better today. And the notes you left Kent. He’s pretty much useless reading medication labels, writing it all out for him really helped.”

“Well, didn’t want you to accidentally double up on your pain meds,” her best ME said with a shrug. “I have a question though.” It was a sort of compromise they reached, that if Megan phrased it that way and Kate indicated she was willing to take the risk, then she knew it was possible whatever was following would be as bluntly shocking as ever. 

“Yes?”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about your parents?”

“You mean the fact that they’re dead.”

“Yes.”

“There didn’t seem to be a good reason to bring it up. I miss them, but...it’s different than what happened with your dad, Megan. It was a car accident, two years after I graduated college, and it wasn’t their fault or the other driver’s really. An axle broke, the other driver lost control...it happens. And my father never retired from the military, so we hardly ever saw him and we weren’t really close as a result. The last four years, my brother and I only saw them twice as he and my mother were based in Japan. Kent’s the one I was close to, and he’s the one I still have. We may not see each other often, but we talk on the phone two or three times a week and he’s been there for every important moment of my life since I graduated high school. He even waited a year to go to college, so we could attend together. Dad was based in Germany then, so Kent and I shared an apartment all the way through grad school. ”

“So it’s just been the two of you, all these years.”

“Yeah, just us.”

“And what does he do?”

“He’s an engineer.” Giving Megan a sharp look. “And taken.”

“I’m not interested like that, I told you. I was just wondering if he got the same brains you did.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re really smart, and not the kind you see every day. Fish for compliments much?”

“You think I’m really smart.” Doubtful.

“I wouldn’t work for you if I didn’t.” Nudging gently with an elbow.

“See, you say that, but-”

“Kate, did you seriously almost die on national television?!” Kent demanded as he burst in the door, cell phone in hand.

“Kent, it wasn’t like that-” Kate said quickly. 

“It was exactly like that, I was there,” Megan cut in with a snort.

“Not helping, Megan,” her boss hissed. 

“Wait is that you? In the video?” Holding up the cellphone, and its a clip from Kate’s interview where she collapsed. 

“Yes, Dr. Strafford and I were the ones to administer the epinephrine that saved her life.”

“Well, thank you. At least someone has a shred of common sense around here.”

Megan gives Kate a smug look.

“I didn’t collapse on purpose, Kent.”

“Did you know you were sick, when you got up in front of everyone?”

“And excellent question I would like to know the answer to,” Megan seconded quickly.

“Does it matter?” Deflection.

“I think so.” Megan, incredulously. 

“I...had reason to think that I might have contracted the virus, yes.”

“How?”

“...there was a puncture in one of my gloves while I was suturing up one of the bodies.”

“You poked yourself, didn’t you? And you didn’t tell anyone.”

Kate doesn’t answer.

“Damn it, Kate...at the very least, you wouldn’t have collapsed on TV like that if you’d just told me.”

“Don’t you lecture me about following the rules.”

“Ok, that is fair. But my not following the rules saved your life.”

“Why do I get the feeling I’m never going to hear the end of that?”

“There’s not many opportunities for teasing the great Dr. Kate Murphy, so I have to take my shots where I can.”

“I like her,” Kent stuck in, unused to seeing his sister with someone who could go toe to toe with her. 

“You would.” Kate, dour. She yawns.

“And you need to go to sleep,” Megan said as she started to rise from the bed. “I’ll be by tomorrow night to check in again. Should I bring dinner?”

“Sounds good to me.” Kent.

“Yes, because what I need is you two getting chatty.”

“Goodnight to you too, Kate.” Megan, over her shoulder as she leaves. Kent follows her out.

“Seriously, thank you for everything. My sister is the only family I have left, and she means the world to me. We’re both lucky she has a friend like you to look after her.”

“I was happy to do it. She’s been a pretty great friend to me too.”

-090-

“You’re still too skinny,” Megan fussed as she watched Kate push her plate away. 

“I’m back at a healthy weight according to the doctor,” Kate replied mildly as she took another sip of her wine. 

“I’m a doctor, and I think you’re still too skinny.”

“I’ll take that under advisement.” Rolling her eyes.

“Heard from your brother recently?”

“We spoke just last night. He’s doing fine, and I convinced him he’s not flying back down again to see me. Which I suspect you already know.”

“He may have called to confirm you were doing as well as you said. Apparently, you’re notorious for downplaying how sick you are. He said something about you sicking up on the Thanksgiving turkey one year because you didn’t want to miss the pumpkin pie for something as stupid as the flu?”

“Oh, he did not...”

“It was a lovely chat.”

“Delete his number from your phone right now.”

“I don’t have his number, he called me at work.”

“I do not need you getting embarrassing stories from my brother while you’re working.”

“I promise not to ask for anymore, but you should consider being more convincing in your ‘I’m doing fine’ speech so he doesn’t worry. You really scared him, I think. I know you scared me.”

“You, scared? I didn’t know that was possible.”

“I told you, I don’t have many girlfriends. You’re not replaceable, Kate Murphy, so do me a favor and don’t die.”

“I’ll do my best.” She’s touched.

-090-

“You shouldn’t feel guilty, Lacey.”

The teenager looked up at Kate, both of them standing together outside of Megan’s hospital room as they watched over the still unconscious woman. The steady beep of the monitors marked the minutes as silence stretched between them.

“I was supposed to be there,” she finally said, wiping at her eyes. “To go with her to the shower. If I had been maybe she wouldn’t have waited so late to leave. Or I might have been able to...to call for help, or...” The tears fell thickly now, and the word choked off as she began to quietly sob. Kate hesitantly wrapped a gentle arm about her shoulders, and was both relieved and nervous when Lacey wrapped both arms about her middle and cried into her shoulder. 

“She’ll be alright,” she murmured as she rubbed the girl’s back gently. “She’s going to be just fine.”

“But Peter won’t.”

“No, Peter won’t.”

“Lacey...” It’s Todd, coming down the hall with Joan Hunt on his tail. “It’s alright, sweetheart. The doctor said she’s going to be fine-” Kate moves aside to let him hold his daughter, hugging her tight. “We can’t stay much later, hon. Its a school night, and it could be hours before your mom wakes up.”

“But...she shouldn’t be alone when she wakes up,” Lacey protested, glancing back at the still form.

“She won’t be.” Kate, quietly. 

“And if Kate can’t stay, I will,” Joan added quickly. “Your father’s right, Lacey. Your mother wouldn’t want you to miss school. You can come back and see her tomorrow, she’ll probably be in a much better position for visitors.”

“Besides, you know how your mom is,” Todd went on a shrug. “She’ll probably want to be alone when she first wakes up.”

“Yeah, ok.” Looking unconvinced. “You’ll call us, though, if something changes?”

“I promise,” Kate.

“Lace, go wait for me by the elevator. I’ll be right there.” Once she’s a little ways off. “Call me if something changes, no reason to wake Lacey up unless its an emergency.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Joan said softly, watching her daughter through the glass.

“And, uh...Kate?”

“Hm?” Looking up from Megan.

“Thank you for being there for Lace. She...really looks up to you.”

“Of course, she’s...a great kid.”

“Yeah, she is.” Smiling a little. Kate looks back at Megan, and he clears his throat. “Right. I’ll call in the morning if we don’t hear from you? Your number hasn’t changed?”

“No, its the same.”

“Good, good. Goodnight, Joan.”

“Goodnight, Todd.”

“Kate.”

“Todd.”

Joan waited for the elevator to close to speak, stepping closer before murmuring, “Please tell me you aren’t here trying to get back into that ass hat’s good graces?” Kate’s head whipped around, cold indignation burning in her eyes. “Good. I’ll admit, the prospect of attempting to sleep in those chairs was not particularly appealing. I did most of the night shifts the first time. Would 8 am be early enough for you to get home, get a shower and go into work for a few hours?”

“...it would.”

“Good, good. Todd will probably bring Lacey straight from school, and only for a short visit. He hates hospitals. They should be done by 4 pm, if you wanted to save an old woman’s back again and take the night shift.”

“I can do that.”

“...thank you.” Clearing her throat. “You might also tell her colleagues that evening is the best time for them to visit. When Todd and Lacey are not here.”

“By which you mean when Todd’s not here as Lacey gets along well with all of us.”

“...yes.” Giving her a side eye.

Smile falling as she looks back at Megan lying still in the bed. “I’ll tell them.”

“Thank you.”

-090-

When Megan woke, it was dark. It was the sounds that told her where she was. The blip of a heart rate monitor, the gentle click of a motorized IV pump, the persistent shhh of an oxygen line running. Slowly she became aware of the tubes. One on her face (oh, she hated the way it felt in her nostrils) another on her arm. Her leg was suddenly aware of a rush of warmth, and a bit of concentration said...yes, she was wearing a catheter. 

Her hands ached. 

“Megan?” 

Blinking slowly, she turned her head to see Kate rising from a chair, eyes red even in the dim light. It was the grief that brought it to the surface. Memories cascading to the front of her mind until she could hardly breathe-

Peter!

The sobs made bruises she suddenly remembered receiving burn, tears tracing lines of fire across open cuts and her hands, her hands-

She was being held. Her face buried in a neck, arms carefully supporting her shaking frame. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. She could feel the tears that pooled against her own, hear the breath that ran ragged against her hair. 

And when it was done, Kate pulled over the tissues and cleaned both their faces and called the nurse. Megan’s vitals were checked, her IV pump adjusted, and given a cup with ice to start with. And when the woman was gone, Kate settled them both back in the dark, laid on hand gently on Megan’s arm, and waited. 

It was exactly what she needed, and as her eyes slid shut again with exhaustion that felt engraved on her bones she wondered if she would ever have the courage to tell Kate that. 

-090-

Kate wondered when she’d learned to see Megan’s lies. To hear the note in her voice that meant ‘I’m speaking these words, but I don’t believe them in the slightest’.

Joan arrived at 7:55 am on the dot with hot coffee and quiet thanks. Kate accepted the peace offering, and went on her way. At home she showered and changed, and went to work to nap in her chair and struggle through paperwork. And at 4 pm on the dot, she was back at the hospital walking into Megan’s room. 

“I’m fine,” Megan said simply as her mother stood beside her bed, looking down at her daughter with a slight frown. “I am! They’ve already graduated me to solid foods and tonight they’re switching me to oral pain meds. If I can prove I can get around with minimal assistance, I can go home tomorrow. See? Fine!”

“You’re bullying them into hurrying things along,” Joan accused her daughter darkly.

“I’m a doctor, and as such I’m in a better position to know what I need than the average patient,” Megan countered simply. “And I’ve been a patient enough to know that at this point, I’m going to rest much better in my own bed than here.” Spying Kate. “Please tell my mother that I’m right, Kate.”

“...she probably is,” Kate admitted, remembering her own experience in the hospital quite vividly. “And if she’s able to get up and eat and drink with no problems, there isn’t a pressing reason for her to remain here. All of her other tests have come back just fine.”

“See?”

“...that being said, she shouldn’t be alone once she’s home,” Kate added quickly, ignoring the glare sent her way. “And you can stop looking at me like that, Megan, when you know it's true. Your bandages won’t come off for a few more days, and you can’t get your stitches wet. That means needing help.”

“Well, either way you aren’t going home now, and Dr. Murphy I need to speak with you in the hallway.”

“...of course.” Following Joan outside.

“I know you offered to stay the night, but my plans have changed and I cannot take your place in the morning. I’ve been asked to attend a a charity event that I would rather not go to but is bring run by an old friend. In the spirit of fairness, if you are able to take tomorrow morning instead and then transport Megan home if she’s released I will stay-”

“It’s fine,” Kate interrupted her gently. “I spoke with my staff, and we’re all taking time off over the next few days to help...process what happened. My day is tomorrow. So I’ll stay tonight, and get Megan home whenever she’s released.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I am.” Looking away. “I know you don’t think much of me, and that’s alright. None of us made the best choices at that time. But I mean it when I say she’s my friend, and a highly valued member of our team.”

“Thank you Dr. Murphy.” Quietly, stiffly. “...please let me know when you have her home safely. I’ll arrange to get Lacey and be there that evening.”

“Ok, I will.”

“What was that about?” Megan demanded as soon as Kate was back, scowling at the door.

“Just arranging who’s keeping an eye on you,” Kate replied sweetly. “And you’re welcome. I talked her out of staying the night with you instead of me.”

“Oh, thank god. She was awful the first time-”

“I know, I remember,” gently. “Are you up for a walk? I see they freed you from your pee purse.”

“I had to practically beg them to remove it, so I better take advantage of it while I can.”

A walk means a nap, and a nap means Kate can also take a nap.

-090-

There were tears again that night. Great, gut-wrenching gasps of grief that left her aching muscles in agony and made her throat burn and-

And Kate was there to hold her. Silently. Gently. Sharing in the burden of loss. 

When she was released from the hospital the next morning, Kate drove her home. Megan considered it only fair when her boss ordered her to bathe (the hospital smell really did permeate into everything), and a little cleverness with layered plastic gloves and tape kept her bandages dry. Needing help rinsing and combing out her hair afterwards was frustrating, but a burger and shake from her favorite take out soothed ruffled feathers and she fell asleep on the couch assuming she would wake to find herself alone with just Kate. Which was far more comforting a thought than she ever expected it to be.

Instead, she woke to Lacey watching a movie next to her on the couch and her mother making dinner in the kitchen. 

“Hey mom,” her daughter said with a small smile. “Feeling better now that you’re home?”

“A little,” Megan replied groggily. “How did you get here?”

“I picked her up,” Joan said from the kitchen. “You just missed Kate. She left a little while ago to go get some sleep in her own bed. She looked like death. She explained everything about your hands and your medications on your discharge papers. She’ll be back tomorrow to check on your bandages. Until they come off, though, you need to be careful so we’re here to help.”

It wasn’t what Megan wanted, but even her superior intellect could find no way around it. And if the way her eyelids were drooping, she’d hopefully sleep through most of it. 

Dinner was quiet, and after she took her pain pills she retreated to her room and pretended to sleep. 

Her phone rang.

“Stop avoiding your family,” Kate said from the other end, sounding exhausted.

“Did they seriously call you to tattle on me?” Megan growled back. 

“Yes,” her boss replied testily. “They did. Because they care about you and you worry them.”

“I’m an adult and I am perfectly capable of handling my grief on my own terms,” she grumbled, frustrated with how her fingers kept slipping away from their grip. 

“This is not just about your grief and you know it,” her friend shot back tiredly.

“I don’t want to talk about that.”

“You need to talk to someone.”

“Megan?” Her mother, opening her door.

“I have to go, go get some sleep,” the medical examiner said as she hung up and rolled towards her visitor. “Mom, did you seriously call Kate?”

“No,” Joan said as she sat on her daughter’s bed. “Lacey did. She seems to think Kate has a lot of influence over you, much to my surprise.”

“We’re friends, and she has practice ordering me around as my boss. She’s one of the only people I know worth listening to sometimes.” Grumbling.

“Well, I’m not a huge fan of her still, she did date Todd and cause trouble. But she seems to have some uses.”

“I’m sorry if I’m making you worry. But...I’m...handling it.”

“Are you? Really?”

“Yes. I promise. Can I please go to sleep now?” Turning her phone off completely. “I’m...I’m just tired.”

“I suppose.”

-090-

The tears came that night, but there was no one to hold her this time. She stifled the sobs against her pillow, the last thing she wanted being to wake her mother or daughter in her grief. 

Her phone on the nightstand buzzed. 

It was a text from Kate.

I’m sorry. Call me if you need to talk.

Megan didn’t call, but she did hug the device to her chest as the tears continued to fall. It was enough to know that someone knew, that someone cared. That Kate cared. 

It had to be enough.

-090-

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“It’s part of my charm,” Megan replied with a Cheshire grin.

“Charm. Right,” her boss said, rolling her eyes. 

“It’s been a month. When can I come back to work?”

“When you go see the grief counselor like all the rest of us.”

“No.”

“Then you’re still not coming back to work.”

“That’s ridiculous! I’ve...dealt with my grief. And the rest. My hands have healed-”

“Mostly healed. You still have two weeks of physical therapy to help stretch out the scar tissue.”

“Please, working with corpses does not require that much dexterity, and if I need help that’s what you’re there for.”

“I’m your boss, not your assistant. I have an entire office to run.”

“Which begs the question: how do you have time to come here and pester me about grief counseling?”

“Because I’m your friend and you buy the good wine,” Kate replied, bringing her glass to her mouth. 

“We’re going to your place next week so we can drink your wine, then.”

“Are you cleared to drive?” Poking at her because she knows she can. 

“You know am I, I have been since the bandages came off.”

“And you stopped taking the pain pills?”

“You took them, so yes.” Grumbling. “So...Bud is really retiring.”

“Yes.”

“God...I hate this. What’s Sam going to do without Bud?”

“...”

“What?”

“...she’s leaving the force.”

“And what’s she going to do, become a barista? She’s not been on the force nearly long enough to be able to retire.”

“She’s joining the FBI.”

“Are Ethan and Curtis leaving too?”

“No, they’re staying where they are. And they’ve both been to the grief counselor.”

“And have you been to the grief counselor?”

“Yes, I have.”

Quiet stretches between them. 

“I want to talk about something else now.”

“I thought you would.”

-090-

“Dr. Murphy?” 

Kate looked up from her desk to see Lacey standing in the doorway.

“Lacey. I told you you could call me Kate.”

“It’s your office, so I thought it best to be safe.”

“So, it’s good to see you up and about. What can I do for you today? If you’re looking for your mom I have no idea where she is.”

“She’s in autopsy. I just wanted to thank you.”

“What for?”

“Not firing my mom. I know she broke...a lot of rules trying to save me.”

“Lacey...” Getting up and rounding her desk to stand in front of her, leaning against the desk. “I didn’t have a say in that, either way. Decisions were made above me, and I had little choice but to follow them.”

“Oh.”

“That being said...I know how much your mom cares about you, and despite the fact that I wish she’d trusted me enough to tell me what was going on...I understand.”

“Well, then...thank you. For understanding. Could I ask you for a favor?”

“You can ask...”

“I want to make mom something special, and I thought you might be able to help?”

A smile. “I can try.”

-090-

“Are you going to keep brooding on this?”

“This is why I didn’t want want to go see a grief counselor in the first place. Anyone who spends all day with sad people can’t be right in the head.”

“You know, just because we’re fairly certain he got away with murder doesn’t mean he wasn’t right.”

“Oh no.”

“The fact is, if he wasn’t good at his job he wouldn’t still be in the profession. While I don’t agree with the ‘eye for an eye’ approach to his work, that doesn’t discount his ability to effectively discover and treat the issues you still have with your father’s death.”

“Suicide. The word you’re looking for is suicide.”

“Yes, his suicide, which is why you still have issues with it.”

“I can’t just...ignore the fact that he’s a murderer who escaped justice.”

“So don’t. We’ll do better next time, and there will be a next time. With the number of people in this city holding a grudge, he’ll find another target. Another wrong to right with a clever murder. Eventually, he’ll make a mistake, and you’ll be there to catch him.”

“You have a great deal of faith in my ability to catch a killer.”

“Because you’re Megan Hunt. You always catch the killer.”

-090-

“So, I promised myself I wouldn’t ask,” Megan said as she closed Kate’s office door behind herself. “But...I have to know.”

“Oh, this should be good.”

“Was Sergei as good as he looked? Because...men like that do not appear every day.”

“....he was even better.”

“So, when are you going to see him again?”

“I’m not. He’s returning home, which isn’t here, and that’s that.” Clearing her throat. “So, would you have taken him for yourself if you’d had the chance?”

“He wouldn’t have even noticed if I’d walked in naked,” Megan replied quietly. “The man only had eyes for you.”

“Hm.” For a moment, somewhere far away.

“That good, hm?”

“Excuse me?”

“You were on the other side of the world, Kate. Or back in a hotel room. Of course, that is assuming you actually made it to the room before, uh...”

“Backseats of cars and closets lose their appeal after college,” Kate replied dryly.

“Well, at least he turned out to be one of the good guys.”

“Sort of, yes.”

“Watch out for your friend the DA, though, he’s been eyeballing you when you’re not looking.”

“He’s married.” Suddenly uncomfortable.

“That doesn’t matter to some men.”

-090-

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Megan replied as she looked up from her desk. “How much trouble am I in?”

“As your boss I’m annoyed but relieved that we’re not putting an innocent man in jail for a very long time. As your friend, I’m pissed as hell. How many months have we been working with Tommy, and you’re just now mentioning that you have a past with him?”

“A past that is in the past.”

“Oh, that’s not true. Or at least it’s not as firmly in the past as you think it is.”

“He’s....been trying to bring it to the present.”

“Do I need to have a chat with him?” More to herself. “Or his boss?”

“No. No. I do not need you intervening like...some teacher telling the boy snapping girls’ bras to back off.”

“Is that what he’s doing? Because that is absolutely grounds for filing sexual harassment.”

“He is not snapping my bra. He is being very...persistent, but I can’t get too angry because that’s part of what I liked about him in the first place.”

“Persistent.”

“When I was a doctor at the hospital after I patched him in the ER he kept coming back for months before I finally agreed to a date.”

“Why didn’t you say yes the first time?”

“Mostly because I was too busy. Too...involved in my work.” Looking away. “I hadn’t been close to anyone since I left school. I didn’t have any friends. I took the first job I could find in the field I wanted to work in as far from Philadelphia as I could find.” Rocking in her chair, rather like squirming under Kate’s steady gaze. “He...broke past my defense when I was thoroughly determined not to have any attachments at all.”

“How long were you together?”

“A little over a year.”

“And it ended because...?”

“Because he cheated on me, and I am not a forgiving person.”

“And yet you mortgaged pretty much everything you own to get him out of prison long enough to prove his innocence.”

“I knew it wasn’t him.”

“He cheated on you and you still trust him.”

“I broke the law and convinced other people to break the law to save your life. I did the same thing for Lacey. I am willing to go to great lengths to save people that I care about. And yes, I still care about him even if he was an idiot and a cheater. He...made me realize that I couldn’t live completely alone anymore. Whatever else he did, he...he cared about me when I was not an easy person to care about. Which is something the two of you have in common.”

“How soon did you meet Todd after that?” Smiling a bit. 

“I finished my residence, and returned to Philadelphia. My mother introduced us shortly afterwards. Compared to Tommy, Todd was...quiet. Dependable. And very respectable. My mother and I didn’t fight about him. He was...safe, I guess.”

“Safe isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

-090-

“Did it feel good?” Megan asked as they ate their lunch together the next morning. “Putting her in her place?”

“You mean the police chief.”

“Yes, I most certainly do.”

“Yes, it did. It may not help me politically, but it most certainly did.”

“You protect your people. It’s one of the things that makes you a good Chief Medical Examiner.”

“Will that also make me a good congresswoman?”

“I think so.”

“But you don’t like that I’m running for office.”

“I don’t like how it feels like your loyalties are divided, and not just because I rather selfishly don’t want to end up with Curtis in charge again. I don’t like what it’s doing to you.”

“And what is it doing to me?”

“Turning you into someone you’re not. Making you break your own rules so you can conform to theirs.”

“It’s not nearly as drastic as you think.”

“Do you remember when we had that conversation about your habit of lying about how bad things are?”

“You have no room to talk.”

“Yeah, but that just makes me an expert at spotting it in other people.” Rolling her eyes. “Still...thanks for supporting us today. And for Tommy and his partner. It helped.”

“Any time.”

-090-

“You know, Megan, when you’re wrong you’re really wrong.”

“It doesn’t happen hardly ever.”

“No, it doesn’t. It’s like you managed to wrap up every possible mistake from the last six months into one horrific trainwreck of a package that went off all at once.”

“I believed her. I was one hundred percent in her court, and I would have fought to hell and back for her to be released. That scares the hell out of me.”

“It should. She was a remorseless murderer, and she nearly escaped.”

“You’re yelling less than I expected.”

“Because she fooled me too. Not as thoroughly as you, but I doubted her mother and her diagnosis. If I hadn’t, I would have stopped you sooner.”

“...that makes me feel a little bit better.”

“I thought it might.” Slight smile, head tilted to one side. “Jokes aside...you aren’t going to be right every time. So don’t beat yourself up about it. The important thing is, no permanent damage was done and the truth was dragged into the light kicking and screaming.”

“She most definitely was.”

“Have you told Lacey?”

“No, and I don’t plan on it. No need to give her nightmares about sweet-looking girls her age stabbing her in her sleep. We will be having a talk about letting people come inside the house just because they claim to know me, though. Given what we’ve been through, I think I can convince her of at least that much.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

-090-

“So, you and Tommy’s partner were trapped in an elevator for quite a while, right?”

Kate lifted exhausted eyes from her desk and met Megan’s sleep-deprived grin.

“Oh, no,” she said, leaning back tiredly in her seat. “No no no. Nothing like that happened in the least.”

“He is kinda cute.”

“He’s practically a child! I might be two decades older than him.”

“I was two decades older than Aiden, almost.”

“That was different. Aiden did not look or act like a child.”

“No, he definitely did not.” Wide grin.

“Besides, even if the entire idea didn’t feel like statutory rape he made it clear what he thinks of me.”

“It’s the politics, isn’t it?”

“How’d you guess?”

“His father is a lawyer who got rich protecting the corrupt and the wealthy. He has definite ‘views’ about politics as a result.”

“So I gathered.” Rolling her eyes. “I won’t become like them, Megan. I’m running for congress because I’m not like them. Because someone not like them is what we need.”

“I agree. I also think it’s harder than you thought. You can’t tell me your friend the DA hasn’t disappointed you with some of the decisions he’s made.”

“...yes, he has. But he’s also been in the system longer than I have. He’s...lost hope. He doesn’t see that we can make things better without playing by their crooked rules.”

“And he’s your mentor. Don’t you see the problem there? He’s not interested in learning from you, you’re supposed to be learning from him. And I’m sorry, but if he’s not technically corrupt he is definitely the next best thing.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to win on your own, because you’re a good person who would do a good job. Not because powerful people backed you and now have strings tied to you all over the place. It’s why he does what he does: he’s made promises to stay in power. If he doesn’t keep them, then the people who pull his strings will pull him down.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“I do. You inspire people, Kate. You make them believe that they’re better than they really are all the time.” More quietly. “You’ve certainly managed miracles with me.”

Blushing. “Do you really mean that?”

“I do. And I am definitely exhausted enough to let my mouth run without my brain intervening. I might regret this conversation after I’ve slept.”

“Well, it explains why you’re being so complimentary at least.” Smiling. “I’m glad Tommy is alright.”

“Me too.”

“Stafford seems to be taking his defeat well.”

“...”

“What happened now?”

“It was the cop that’s been hanging around him a lot. He took her to a game. And hasn’t discouraged her advances. It’s...like before. And I’m not going to let him do it to me again. I’m not.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I have to. I don’t think I could take it again.”

-090-

“How the hell do you manage to attract the weird ones, Megan?” Kate asked as they had dinner together at Kate’s apartment. “I mean, righting a mistake you made is one thing, but this one was over the top even for you.”

“Tommy is still pretty mad at me too.”

“He would have killed an innocent man. Unknowingly, of course, but still.”

“That’s what I said.” Rolling her eyes. “What are you going to do about your friend the DA?”

“...I don’t know.” Setting her fork down. “It’s....complicated.”

“He could have cost us the truth, covering for his friend like that.”

“I know.”

“It wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“I know.”

“And did you ask him about it?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing worth repeating.”

“He brushed you off.”

“Yes.” Aggravated now.

“Kate...I truly think that if you were elected you would make a difference, but not with him still attached to your campaign. He carries the agendas of powerful people, and it shows. You can’t let yourself get too entangled with that if you actually want to change things.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to think that too.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

-090-

“Thank you.”

Kate looked up to find Megan standing in the doorway to her office, a plastic bag that smelled amazing in one hand and drinks in a carrier in the other.

“I brought dinner,” Megan went on as she came in, setting the bag and drinks on the coffee table and giving her boss and hopeful grin. “I know you are probably planning on working late to make up for me being gone so much, so I thought the least I could do is bring you something to eat.”

“That was very thoughtful,” Kate said as she rose, coming to sit and help unpack the Thai food from the containers. “Though, I really don’t mind. I meant what I said about taking as much time as you need.”

“I know.” Soft smile. “And...that really did mean a lot to me, so thanks.”

“Any time.”

“I heard from Curtis you’ve been using your art degree at work again.”

“Yeah, it’s been nice getting my hands dirty more than usual.”

“Reconsidering running for office?”

“...I have been, yes.” Sighing. “I want to help people, and I am where I am right now. And I’m afraid that if I win with help that I won’t ever be able to do as much good as I am right now.” Dryly. “You know, it’s funny because...you’re part of the reason I’m able to run.”

“Really?” Disbelief.

“Your work got people talking about us, and in a good way. Half the grants I’ve gotten approved have been because you’re still working for me. If you’re here, they know the investment is worth it. And it’s because of that attention and your success that I’m considered successful enough to run for congress.”

“I hadn’t thought about it like that. You’re welcome.”

“And it’s because of you that I’m seriously considering withdrawing.” Rolling her eyes. “Very few people in this building are comfortable telling me the truth. You never are.”

“I’m also not very nice, and you should take most of what I say with a grain of salt. Or perhaps a whole spoonful.”

“I don’t want to become a puppet, Megan.”

“Then cut the DA loose and keep running.”

“I don’t think I can win without him.”

“I think you can.”

“Well, let’s table that for a minute because I don’t think we’re going to agree. How are you handling everything?”

“That’s...a very complicated question.”

“Then we’ll break it down. I heard you and Tommy are a thing again.”

“Well, that was fast.” Rolling her eyes. “Gossip doesn’t run in this building, it flies.”

“So it’s true?”

“It is.” A quiet smile. “I think he’s earned a second chance.”

“Well, I’m here for you either way.”

“You don’t agree with me.”

“I...don’t trust him as much as you do. And I think think he’s making questionable decisions regarding his personal life. But you’re an adult and me trying to stop you for something as simple as ‘I wouldn’t date him’ is just stupid. If it works out, you’d better invite me to the wedding. If it doesn’t, I will be there with wine and Netflix.”

“That might be the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“And I’m not even trying to date you.”

“Still my favorite girlfriend.”

“Do you mean only girlfriend?”

“I brought you your favorite coconut curry chicken.”

“Yes, you did, and you remembered to ask for no bamboo shoots. Which no one else ever does.”

“Then I’m your favorite.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

-090-


End file.
